


Still Here

by Jh3richo



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jh3richo/pseuds/Jh3richo
Summary: It started off small.Long stares that would be caught on occasion and result in alarmed expressions, the little steps that brought them standing closer, the wondrous twinkling in her eyes when being addressed.It made Fareeha uncharacteristically  uncomfortable.





	Still Here

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend Oz, who told me I can only write angst and can't write fluff.
> 
>    
> You're goddamn right I can't.

It started off small.

Long stares that would be caught on occasion and result in alarmed expressions, the little steps that brought them standing closer, the wondrous twinkling in her eyes when being addressed.

It made Fareeha uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

She had long since abandoned her previous tactic of brushing it all off and even stopped trying to make it into a joke that never seemed to be funny to the girl.

Having people follow her around and read into every word she said wasn't anything new. But she could put it aside. Stares that lasted far past what was acceptable were nothing normal either. Being an Amari meant that and she had come to accept it long ago.

But when Reinhardt paused mid-conversation with a broad grin and a finger pointing behind her, Fareeha immediately tensed up and couldn't help her bristle.

“Your shadow is here.” The crusader commented with amusement.

Fareeha whipped her head around to catch the retreating head of brown hair and pink hoodie and clenched her fists in frustration.

Hana was an enigma to her.

The girl did nothing but trail behind her at a safe enough distance to run away when caught. When confronted, she remained nothing short of aloof and made it seem like Fareeha was the one being unreasonable.

On missions, Hana would never look her in the eye and tended to fumble with her words. At first, Fareeha thought it was out of fear and tried her damnedest to be more friendly. But even after full weeks spent clowning it up with Lúcio, the blank stares and mumbles remained.

One night, just before bed, Fareeha lay face down among the sheets and grumbled out her frustrations. Without looking up from her book, Angela scratched the back of her head lightly and chuckled at her plight.

“Maybe she has a crush on you, _Liebling_.”

The dark haired woman sat up at this and looked at her in dismay. “Oh god, what do I do then? I'm basically her boss and she's so much younger than me and I've never had to turn someone down before or what if I'm just overreacting and I make things worse--”

Angela laughed, setting her book aside and sliding her glasses up to rest atop her head. “Fareeha, I hate to tell you this but you always overreact. It's just a harmless crush, it'll pass. But if it's bothering you so much, talk to her in the morning.” A wicked smirk grew on her lips as she asked, “You've never had to turn someone down?”

Caught and now sheepish with embarrassment, Fareeha fiddled with the hem of her sleep shirt while saying, “Is it so hard to believe that I was the one getting shot down all the time instead of the other way around? I mean come on, I don't even know how I had a snowball's chance with you, Ange.”

With another laugh, the captain found herself being tugged forward into a leisurely embrace. Her head lay on her partner's collarbone while thin fingers traced patterns across her back in a comforting motion.

“You want to know how?” Angela asked softly, her accent slightly thicker in her hushed voice, “It's because you can make me laugh. No matter the situation, you're always finding a way to smile. You make me feel safe, like I'm home even when we're halfway across the world. That's what I love about you the most.”

A dopey grin spread across Fareeha's face and she felt lighter than air, already putting together her own romantic monologue when the doctor added with a hum, “And have you seen your biceps? Or abs? Or your _ass?_ Jesus Christ on high Fareeha, I don't see how anyone could turn down the opportunity to lick chocolate syrup off your--”

“Okay okay, slow down; you've made your point! I'd like to actually get some sleep tonight, you know. I'll talk to Hana in the morning, scouts honour.”

And so come morning, tired yet in a state of blissful relaxation, Fareeha marched herself into the mess hall in search of the young pilot.

Sure enough, in her usual pink hoodie and fuzzy slippers, waving a noisy handheld around while animatedly talking, Hana stood next to Lúcio with a bright smile on her face. The two looked to be accosting the poor server omnic behind the counter about his menu when Fareeha approached.

“Good morning, you two.” She said coolly, watching Hana nearly jump out of her slippers.

“Mornin'!” Lúcio replied cheerfully. He jerked a thumb towards the omnic and said, “He's already out of muffins, just in case that's what you're after. Apparently _someone_ came down at the crack of dawn and ordered all of them.”

Fareeha pulled a face as she struggled to recall what this week's flavor was. “It's banana week.” Lúcio supplied with a knowing grin, the two sharing a laugh.

Remembering her mission, Fareeha directed her attention to Hana and clicked her tongue, “And let me guess, you were up all night streaming and were hoping to fuel up? Got another stream planned for today?”

The interest in her device seemed to grow exponentially as Hana muttered out a quiet, “Yeah.”

“Well, I just so happen to have a few chocolate chip granola bars I've stashed away that I'm willing to part with. But it will cost you.”

With a cheeky grin, Lúcio quipped, “You managed to hide chocolate from Doc Zieg? Sorry, but that sounds to good to be true.” As a sign of good faith, she pulled a handful out of her sweat pant's pocket and held them far enough away that they couldn't be snatched. His eyebrows raised and he muttered, “Price must be pretty high, huh?”

 “Depends on the person, I suppose. I'll have to get back to you on your payment, Lúcio, but as for you--” Fareeha didn't mean for her face to get so tight and her voice so low as she addressed the streamer, “--a word in private, if you'd be so kind.”

The girl visibly tensed and shrank into her hoodie, weakly snorting to try and deflect from it while tugging her hood up and over her head. “Whatever...sure.”

They two left Lúcio behind, now celebrating his handful of granola bars and ignoring the tension between them.

Fareeha led them outside and to a quiet corner overlooking the sea, a place she often came to sit and decompress after long days. An old bench near the steps leading to the small balcony had been rusted through and left nowhere for them to sit, so they leaned against the railing and watched seabirds swoop at fish among the waves.

Once again, Hana refused to look at her. The wind ruffled her hood and looked ready to pull it down, falling enough to reveal the dread on her face.

With a sigh out the nose, Fareeha glanced at her and said, “Look, I get it. Sometimes when you stick a bunch of people together and you skip over the awkward 'we're coworkers' and go straight into the whole 'you just saved my life' thing, it gets pretty complicated. But I don't want you to keep treading lightly around me and I don't want to have to keep biting my tongue about it. So...is there anything you wanna say?”

An almost guilty looked crossed the pilot's features and she hung her hands off the side of the railing. Her lips thinned suddenly and she rested her chin on her arms while saying, “I'm sorry I'm being so weird.”

“Hana, it's alright. It's perfectly normal, and believe it or not I get it, I really do. There's been times where I've gone through the same thing. I guess that's why I feel so awkward now that it's the other way around.”

Her eyes never left the sea as she said with a small smile, “I didn't know anything about you before I joined Overwatch. And then when I got here and I met you...I was so starstruck.”

Fareeha nodded along sagely, starting to open her mouth but pausing when Hana giggled and added, “I never thought I'd have a real-life hero before.”

It caught her completely off-guard and threw the practiced speech she had in mind out the window. Fareeha could only gape stupidly at the young pilot and listen as she gradually found her voice.

“You're just so cool. And you're always calm and know what to do. Everyone looks to you and has so much faith in you and that's...that's amazing. I look at you and I wonder if... maybe I can be like that someday.”

Her smile turned sad suddenly and there was an unmistakable crack in her voice. “And even now I can't help but think, 'maybe she knows what it's like too'.”

“Know what what's like?”

Hana looked at her suddenly with that familiar blank stare, like she was looking past Fareeha instead of at her. But their eyes met and the tears were unmistakable as she said, “What it's like to not have a mom.”

A tightness formed in Fareeha's chest and her breath caught for a moment. Her adrenaline spiked suddenly as she struggled to find something to say to try and ease the situation, but everything she could think of were things she knew from personal experience wouldn't help.

“You don't have to say anything; it's okay. I just thought that was something everybody knew.” The pilot's gaze returned to the sea as she spoke.

Fareeha watched her with sympathy and sighed out her anxiety, leaning heavily on the railing and nodding, “I do know what it's like. It's hard. And lonely. It can make you into a totally different person if you allow it. I let myself get swallowed by it once, but never again. I just had to keep reminding myself that I'm still here.”

“It's not like I was all alone. I still had my dad.” A far-away look crossed her features and she said with a chuckle, “He's the best. Dad did so much and sacrificed so much for me. He played mom and dad for me. He got me into video games, too.”

“But we never talked about her or what happened. Not even when I got drafted into the MEKA program.”

Her voice trembled as she supplied, “Mom died during an attack from the omnic in the sea. When I got the call to action, I accepted without hesitation. I wanted to destroy that thing and watch it burn for what it did. I think it just made Dad more afraid for me...but I never knew what to say. I still don't.”

She opened her mouth to speak again but stopped herself, instead lowering her head to her arms and sniffling harshly. Fareeha dropped her gaze back to the ocean and waited for her to continue, still unsure what to say.

They stood and let the sounds of crashing waves fill the silence between them, glancing up at the occasional cry of a seabird. The sun glinted off the water in blinding waves, the clouds granting a moment of reprieve before shining the light into the endless blue again.

Able to speak again, Hana lifted her head and muttered, “I didn't think about what it would mean. I didn't think of it as becoming a soldier. It seemed like a game. But then the other people in my squad stopped coming back from missions and I had more and more close calls...”

“But you're still here.” Fareeha stated. “Hana, you've been through so much pain and loss and you've done it earlier than I did. But you're stilling finding the fun in life. That is what's truly important. You just streamed to thousands of people and you're getting ready to do it again.”

“It's not fun sometimes.” Hana admitted quietly, “Sometimes I stream just so I don't have to think, ya'know? Like I can stop being 'me' and pretend to be someone else. But after a while I feel guilty, like I'm lying all the time.”

Her hood was lowered and she stood a little straighter, a sorry smile forming on her lips as she met the captain's eyes and said, “But I look at you and I wanna try to not pretend anymore. You're always so happy and nice and calm and...everything I wish I could be.”

“I don't even think it's anything you've done. It's just how you are, how you act and go about the most normal stuff that really gets me going. That's what I want to be like. Not some superhero in a fancy suit, just a person who embodies everything good.”

Emotion closed Fareeha's throat as Hana added with a wide grin “It doesn't make sense, but you make me feel safe. Like I'm home with Dad, booting up one of his old consoles. To me, that's what being a hero is. That's the kind of person I want to be.”

Blinking away the heat behind her eyes and clearing her throat, Fareeha stood a little straighter and returned the grin. “I don't think you have far to go, Hana. You put so much good back into the world with what you do, don't forget that. I'm sure there are people who think the same things about you.”

She scoffed, her cheeks pinking as the dark haired woman nudged her shoulder gently and continued. “And hey, it's alright to not feel okay all the time. It may come as a surprise to you, but most of the time I don't. It's not something you can make go away entirely, but I have found a key to managing it. Wanna know my secret?”

Hana wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie and nodded.

“Talk to someone, someone you love and trust. It'll be hard at first, but you'll find yourself much happier after.” Fareeha ran a hand through her hair and awkwardly added, “Like, for example, I talk to Angela. Just having her sit and listen to me ramble makes me feel better.”

“Could I talk to you?” Hana's voice cracked as she asked.

“Of course.” Fareeha held a hand out, tugging the young pilot into her side when it was taken. She ran a comforting across her shoulders and said, “I won't lie, it's not going to get any easier, but I promise I'll be here to help you through it. Despite everything, we're still here.”

They stayed like that for a great deal of time. Fareeha couldn't help the fond smile even if she tried as she tucked the young girl further into her arms, a warmth growing in her chest and spreading throughout her body. Fingers tightened into a firm grasp on her shirt as Hana hid her face and cried, her shoulders quaking gently.

After a while, Hana broke away and wiped the wet off her face and resumed her incapability to look Fareeha in the face. The captain cocked an eyebrow as she pulled a stashed granola bar from her pocket and offered it.

“Gotta refuel before the stream, right?”

With a pink face and dripping nose, Hana sank deeper into her hoodie and mumbled, “I don't think I want to stream anymore...I don't feel okay.”

Jumping into action in a slight panic, Fareeha snapped her fingers and asked, “Got any other plans tonight? Angela and I were planning on going to the movies and could always use another hand in sneaking in candy.”

“I don't wanna interrupt your date--”

“No, I insist! Besides, maybe you can stop Angela from talking through the whole damn movie for once.” She paused and added slowly, "If you don't want to you, you don't have to. I personally feel better after spending time with other people, but everyone's different and you shouldn't make yourself do something you don't want to do."

Hana paused, obviously mulling over the invitation before wiping her nose again and nodding. “Yeah, sure. It sounds nice to get away for a while. I haven't been off the watchpoint much anyway.”

Deciding a time at which to meet up, the two parted ways. Fareeha walked back into the base and made sure to watch Hana until she met up with Lúcio. She waited until the two turned a corner before taking off at full speed down the long halls.

The med-bay door burst open with a loud _BANG_ and Fareeha all but yelled, “Clear your schedule; we're going out tonight!”

Angela nearly sucked the spoon in her mouth down her throat, yanking it out and hacking half-eaten oatmeal back into her bowl. Red in the face and still coughing, she placed a hand to her chest and wheezed, “Wh-what...the hell, F-Fareeha?!”

“I talked with Hana! We're taking her out to a movie tonight!” The captain hissed, closing the door behind herself and approaching the doctor's desk.

The blonde picked up a discarded napkin and wiped her face before asking, “Why? What did she say?” She then stopped and asked more seriously, “What did _you_ say, Fareeha?”

“Nothing—look, it's not what we thought, okay? But I think I made her more upset and I feel bad and I didn't know what to do so I told her we were going to see a movie tonight even though we weren't and asked if she wanted to tag along and she said yes so now we are going to see a movie.”

The laugh caught her off-guard and Fareeha's face warmed. Angela laughed until she was in tears, catching her breath and saying, “Oh darling, you are adorable!” She stood from her seat and walked around to pull her partner into an embrace and said, “You're so sweet. You are as awkward as a newborn deer, but so painfully loving.”

Fareeha reflexively asked with trembling lips, “So would you say I'm en- _dear-_ ing?”

All traces of adoration left Angela's face as she poked a finger into the captain's chest and said, “I'm leaving you. Just for that awful pun.”

She feigned shock and asked dramatically, “But what about these biceps? Or abs? Or ass? Don't you want to lick chocolate syrup off of me?” The two broke into a fit of giggles and shared a long kiss, resting their foreheads together and sighing.

“She said I was her hero.” Fareeha whispered soberly.

“You two are a lot alike, you know.” Angela replied.

“She said something similar to what you did. About me feeling like 'home'.”

“You have a natural sense of 'calm' surrounding you. It's why people listen and flock to you.” She then added, “You're also very motherly, believe it or not.”

They swayed side to side gradually and eventually parted, holding each others hands. Fareeha looked away and admitted, “I'm afraid that I'll screw up now. I've never thought of myself as a role model before. I just want to do right by her.”

“You will.” Angela caressed her cheek lightly and brought her gaze back, “Just keep being you. And if you seem like you're straying, I'll bring you back.”

Fareeha hummed in agreement. “I love you.” She said with a goofy smile.

The doctor chortled and pecked her on the lips, “I love you too. Now, don't you have something very important to do right now?”

With a few more pecks trailing from Angela's cheek to her neck Fareeha asked, “Take you to bed and ravish you?”

“I like that idea _very_ much, but no. I'm thinking of a certain activity involving the purchase of overpriced popcorn and tickets.”

“Oh shit!” Fareeha released the blonde instantly and started for the door, “I don't even know what kind of movie she wants to see! Wait, should we get dinner before or after? Do you think we could pass Hana off as a kid and get her a cheaper ticket?”

“Fareeha?”

She stopped halfway out the door and craned her head around. “Yeah?”

Angela shook her head and giggled, “Nothing. You're just being sweet again, is all. Let me know when we're leaving.”

The walk back to her room was spent debating over where to eat dinner and had her lost in thought. So much so that she nearly missed the sticky note on her door.

The scrawl was accompanied by a familiar bunny face and read, “ _Thanks for the granola bar._ ”

 Fareeha pulled the note off with a smile and noticed another message written on the back. It brought the warmth back to her chest and a private smile to her lips, her eyes watering slightly as she pressed the paper into her pocket and let the words echo through her mind.

“ _We're still here._ ”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to Oz for being a wonderful human being and keeping me distracted from everything that's been going on. You're the bee's knees, my friend.
> 
> As always, sorry for any mistakes. I really need more sleep.


End file.
